identity – A Horse Leads Me to Water

The Great Recession

When Casey’s owner found a permanent retirement situation for her, she left us in the Spring. That summer we bought a horse trailer and a tractor. Then, over the next two years I added two more horses to my collection One was a Thoroughbred mare, who I named Starfire, bought as a project horse from a rescue ranch and the other was a registered Appaloosa gelding who I bought because he was well trained and sound for riding. He was called Jim. Working with a trainer specializing in eventing, I first rode her Hanoverian to improve my equitation and prepare to learn how to jump and traverse the patterns of the dressage arena. Later I turned to riding Jim. A […]

Buying Happiness in a Horse Ranch of Our Own

You may have heard the humorous saying, “Whoever said that money can’t buy happiness never bought a horse.” I did buy a horse, my husband did too. And I was pretty happy. But I thought I could be even happier if I had my own horse property! Getting out from under the limitations and challenges of boarding situations, having our own acreage on which to keep our horses and make our home sounded like it would seal the deal for happiness with horses. No more long commutes, no more public ranch peer pressure or irritation. Just peace and quiet to enjoy our horses from the convenience of home. That we could even consider acquisition of horses, let alone a property […]

Assuming the Equestrian Identity

The equestrian identity had appeared to me as the salve for my struggles with the human condition, especially my emotional wounds and faltering growth. The delight of novelty crested as a tsunami of hope against my melancholy. With so much to learn, each new aspect of horse care and training remained full of positive potential even if things didn’t go as planned or were stalled because the horse or I lacked in some way. As soon as Vegas was officially my charge, it became uncomfortable to remain at the ranch where we started together. For all I had gratefully learned there from the proprietor, my independent study had expanded my knowledge of horses. As the owner of Vegas my […]

In Search of the Horse

Not long after my immersion into the world of Seabiscuit I announced to my dear husband that I was thinking about “getting back into horses”. He mentioned rekindling his own interest in sailing, wondering if that would be of interest to me too. It wouldn’t, my sights were firmly set on horses. He did not try to stop me. Our urban San Francisco location did not immediately facilitate my goal, even though there was a riding stable in the city’s famous Golden Gate Park. I researched horseback riding lessons there and on the peninsula, the suburban, if not bucolic area south of the city known well as Silicon Valley. Each interview with a prospective facility began with the question of […]

In Pursuit of Happiness I Went to the Horse

My early childhood came with a love of horses. Being with them signified happiness. My parents afforded me such opportunities as generously as they could, but it wasn’t in their ability or perhaps not even in their idea of their own lives that I should have a horse of my own. In lieu of any time with live horses I collected Breyer models and other equine imagery and lived out my dreams as a horse girl through books like Black Beauty and The Black Stallion. Looking back, disappointed as I was at not getting a horse, I can admit that it was best that one did not come under my charge then, whatever my parents’ reasoning. By the end of […]